Vocabulary is being introduced to students across the district in a way that encourages students to develop their own understanding of the word and visualize what the word means.

Words appear on walls in elementary and secondary classrooms across the district.  They even hang from the railings!

The real question for teachers is how to incorporate this strategy for vocabulary instruction into their teaching so it supports their work with the curriculum without becoming an add-on.

Middle School P. E. teachers provide activities that reinforce academic vocabulary words used in other content areas.

• Analyze This
  

U-46 teachers give examples of graphic organizers that can be used for math academic vocabuary.

• Analogy
• Concept Maps
• Integers
• Venn Diagram

Samples from Larsen Middle School provide a glimpse at the activities and strategies as they are implemented in several classrooms.  Looking at other secondary schools provides additional ideas for activities.

Larsen Middle School
Academic vocabulary efforts are found throughout the school and implementation is the topic of discussion at teachers’ meetings.  A visit to three science and one social studies classroom reveals a number of different ways to display the words in the classroom. Ideas on activities to help students develop a deeper understanding are also provided.

South Elgin High School
Teachers at SEHS took a turn at being students during one of their meetings when they developed their own academic vocabulary sheets. The sheets are displayed in the entrance of the school.

Streamwood High School
Academic vocabulary is not confined to specific classrooms. Is a part of an art project displayed in the hallway. The words are listed on a chart surrounded by student artwork. The challenged is to determine which word each picture relates to.  Walking into a world language or history class and academic vocabulary again is prominent in the rooms.